A New Hope
by magewhisper705
Summary: My take on what happens after Lady Knight. This is my first fanfic, so please be nice. Constructive criticism is very much appreciated. KelDom. Chapter 8 is up!
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Okay then, I've finally summoned up the courage to write and post a fanfic. I know it isn't extremely long yet, but the next chapter's coming up soon.

Disclaimer: If I were really Tamora Pierce, why would I be writing random fanfics?

Kel and Neal cantered through the forest on their way to Fort Steadfast for the wedding. Neal had been waiting for months to visit his betrothed, Yuki, and as they neared Steadfast's sturdy gates, he urged his gelding, Thunder, into a gallop, and shouted back at Kel, "See you after lunch! I'm off to find my Yamani blossom"

Kel chuckled to herself at Neal's drama and crossed the bridge into Steadfast. She dismounted in the near the gate and looked around for somewhere to stable Hoshi. Kel led her towards some hitching posts and tied her bridle to one. I wonder where Sir Raoul is, she thought. She made her way to a building that looked like a mess hall, while looking around for Raoul or someone she knew.

She walked further into the fort, and saw that preparations for Raoul and Buri's and Neal and Yuki's double wedding had already started. There was a combined wedding altar for Mithros and the Great Mother Goddess set up, and long rows of benches separated by a long red carpet.

"Lady Kel," someone called, as Kel walked into the mess hall. Kel looked towards the direction of the voice, and saw Dom sitting at a table with Raoul, Buri, Alanna, Daine, Numair, various members of the King's Own, and two Riders. The table was already crowded, and everyone was attempting to make room for Kel to sit and eat.

"Kel," said Raoul, "glad to see you made it here on time. Where's Neal?"

"Most likely with his lady love, milord," answered Dom, smiling at Kel.

His smile still makes my heart flip, thought Kel, smiling back at him.

"Come, sit down." said Buri, "By the way, after lunch all the ladies, so to speak, will be going to a dress fitting. Yuki, Alanna, Daine and I already have our gowns, and we'll just be adding finishing touches, but don't worry, your dress is finished, just not fitted."

"When did I agree to wear a gown?" asked Kel, somewhat bewildered.

"You didn't," said Buri, "But to quote Yuki, 'No bridesmaid of mine will be wearing breeches.' And since we _are_ getting married together, I doubt you'll have time to change."

"Bridesmaid!" Kel exclaimed.

"Don't worry," said Alanna, "All of our dresses have split underskirts, after all, we are on the Scanran border."

After finishing up her lunch, Kel was steered towards a small room full of fabric in the infirmary. Kel saw movement from behind a curtain, and out stepped Lalasa, holding a dress.

"Lalasa!" said Kel, "When did you get here?"

"I reached a few days ago, milady Kel. Milady Buri asked me to come and make the clothing for her wedding. Everyone's clothing is made, but I have to fit your dress." Lalasa showed her the dress that she had been holding earlier. "Try this on, please."

Kel stepped behind the curtain and pulled on the dress, almost certain that she would look ridiculous. When she stepped out, everyone's jaw dropped.

"How do I look?" asked Kel, nervously.

"See for yourself, my lady, there's a mirror right there." Lalasa pointed towards the door, and Kel turned, hoping she looked all right. What she saw astonished her. The silk dress fit perfectly, it was tighter around the waist, giving her curves, and flared out to show the light green underskirt, split like Alanna had said, but still beautiful. It wasn't too low cut, which Kel appreciated, and the sleeves opened at the elbows to allow better movement. The forest green of the dress brought out the green in Kel's eyes, and made them sparkle.

Mithros, Kel thought, How long has it been since I've worn a dress?"

"Looks like you won't need to adjust it," said Buri, "that dress fits like a glove."

Lalasa tied the sash behind Kel, and Yuki brought out a long rectangular box. Inside was a light green silk shukusen with gold and emerald green leaves on it.

"The shukusen serves a double purpose," Yuki explained, "As a weapon, and the gift from me to my maid of honor."

"Thank you so much, Yuki," Kel said, tucking the shukusen into her sash. Alanna brought out a medium-sized jewelry box that contained a pendant in the shape of two leaves on a gold chain and a pair of eardrops. The pendant was peridot and emerald, and the eardrops were peridot.

"Wow," said Kel, "these are beautiful, but how am I supposed to wear the eardrops?"

"We'll have to pierce your ears," said Alanna, chuckling, "but thank the Goddess, I can numb them. I wish someone had told me that _before_ I pierced mine."

"That's right," said Buri, laughing as well, "You fainted after we did the second ear."

Kel changed back into breeches and her shirt while Yuki heated the needle, and when she came out, Alanna quickly numbed her ears and Yuki pierced them. After Alanna healed the small holes, Kel put in small gold studs that she would wear regularly.

The wedding wasn't till the next night, so Kel spent the time dueling Alanna and practicing glaives with Yuki. Kel hadn't forgotten her promise to Alanna about teaching her to use the glaive, so at least two hours were devoted to teaching Alanna a pattern dance, and by the time dinner rolled around, Kel was very tired.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Argh!!!!!! No I am not a pirate, I am complaining about an overdose of the bane of my existence, homework, and tests. Mithros, school ticks me off. Anyways, here's another chapter.

Disclaimer: All of the characters in this fanfic belong to Her Awesomeness Tamora Pierce, not me.

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After changing out of her sweat-soaked practice clothes, Kel put on dark blue breeches, a cream shirt and a light blue tunic. Dinner was not really that formal an event, but for some reason Kel felt like she should look nice. After putting on her belt, she headed out of her room and towards the mess hall.

She spotted her friends sitting at a table near the center of the room, and after getting dinner; she sat down next to them. Neal had finally showed up at long last and was sitting next to Yuki, his arm around her shoulders.

"We wondered where you had gotten to, Kel," Neal called, "Any reason for the nice clothes? Perhaps a certain someone has finally caught the lady knight's eye."

Half a second later, Yuki whacked him with her shukusen, and went back to eating.

"Ouch," said Neal, "Why are you being so violent, dear?"

"I wouldn't have to be if you weren't being so dense," Yuki said.

"For your information, Meathead," said Kel, "I just felt like dressing up tonight."

_For Dom, _said a voice in Kel's head.

"Is not," Kel said irritably, not realizing she had spoken out loud.

"Talking to voices in your head, Kel?" Neal asked, "You can't go crazy on me!"

"_Neal,_" Yuki warned.

"Okay, okay," Neal said, and went back to his dinner, resigned.

Kel was still amazed that Yuki could get Neal to shut up so quickly, but she guessed that was the way being in love worked.

By the time she had finished most of her food, a few men from the King's Own had walked into the room. After getting his dinner, Dom sat down across from Kel, exclaiming,

"At last, the elusive Sir Meathead has appeared! I was worried that maybe someone had finally gotten you."

Before Neal could retort, Yuki shoved a spoonful of venison stew into his mouth, so Neal had to settle for glowering at Dom while trying to get through the meat.

"So, Kel," said Yuki, "As you know, you're my maid of honor for the wedding, and Neal has decided that Dom will be his best man."

"When was that decided?" asked Dom, "Because Neal neglected to tell me anything."

"Oh, yeah," said Neal, "Dom, want to be my best man for the wedding?"

"Doesn't being best man usually entail speeches and toasts and stuff?" Dom asked.

"Just a toast, no speeches because you have too many embarrassing stories about me," said Neal.

"Okay then," said Dom, "I'll do it, but it's a shame I can't make a speech."

After dinner, Kel and her friends decided to have a weapons competition, and Kel got her practice glaive and after beating Wolset, Buri and Neal, she found herself facing Dom. They circled each other, her glaive and his sword ready. Kel swept her glaive downwards, trying to knock his legs from under him, but Dom was ready and parried her strike with a low block. Kel stabbed forward, and in retaliation, Dom spun sideways and knocked the glaive down. Then Dom swung upwards and Kel caught his blade on the staff part of the glaive. Remembering what she did when she was caught like this with Stenmun, Kel swept Dom's legs from under him. Only after he has fallen did Kel realize that the blades were locked the other way than they had in Scanra, and when she swept him, both of them toppled and Kel landed on top of Dom. (A/N: I was very tempted to finish this chapter here, but I have no idea when the next update will be, so…)

Kel rolled sideways off Dom and stayed there for a second, winded, and when she moved to get up, she met Dom's eyes. He was amused, partly because he had almost been beaten, and partly because of the position they had landed in. Kel picked herself up and dusted off her tunic and breeches. She offered a hand to Dom to help him up and when he took it, her heart flipped again.

"Tie?" said Dom.

"All right," Kel agreed, "tie."

By the time the competition was finished (Alanna won) it was a couple hours after dusk. Neal and Yuki were kissing each other good night, and Kel and Dom exchanged glances, Dom's full of mischief, Kel's amused. After a few minutes of waiting for Neal, Kel gave up, said good night to her friends, and went back to her room.

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P.S. I know this chapter's kind of short, but I needed something to segue into the wedding day. I'm not really sure how well I wrote Neal, but I guess it's okay. Battle scenes too, I think maybe it should have been longer. Tell me what you think.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Yes, I realized I accidentally posted the same chapter twice, and I fixed that too. Thanks to peddyviolin, lady knight keladry, anythingatall, Lela-of-Bast, rinalashlaya, immoralsilio, White Rosewood and no1 angel knight for reviewing, and to SarahE7191 for telling me about my little chapter error thing.

Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine, I'm not Tamora Pierce, blah blah blah etc.

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The morning of the double wedding dawned bright and clear. Well, not really, it was drizzling, but the clouds were already drying up, and the sun was starting to shine. Since the wedding wasn't until later, Kel figured she should catch up on the sleep that she was sure to miss that night. Unfortunately, a sleep-deprived Neal rudely awoke her.

"How come you aren't awake yet?" he asked.

"I thought that I should catch up on the sleep I'll lose tonight," said Kel, rubbing the last traces of sleep from her eyes, "So much for that."

"Anyways," said Neal, "Yuki has gone on a wedding perfection streak, and she won't stop. Any ideas how to get her to relax?"

"Not really," said Kel, "But good luck."

Since she was awake already, she decided to get some swordplay practice for a change. Halfway through, someone knocked at her door. Kel opened the door to find a slightly annoyed Yuki, towing Alanna, Daine, Buri, and the dark-haired Rider Kel had seen at dinner the night before.

"Finally," said Yuki, letting her exasperation show for once, "It takes forever to get you together. Do you realize that my wedding starts in four hours?"

"Yes, Yuki," said Buri, "I do realize that our wedding is soon, but I also realize that we haven't eaten yet."

"Fine," agreed Yuki, "but you can't complain at all today."

They quickly got their food and began to eat. While they were eating, the Rider introduced herself to Kel. She said her name was Miri Fisher, and she was a Rider group commander. They were talking about Rider life when Yuki almost ordered them to finish.

When they were done, Yuki ushered them to a room that had a table with a mirror, a few chairs and their dresses on a rack.

A door opened, and Lalasa came in from her adjoining room.

"Good morning, my ladies," said Lalasa, "All the dresses are ready to be worn."

"Kel," said Yuki, "Put on your dress and get your shukusen, because we need to practice."

Lalasa handed Kel her dress and directed her to their makeshift changing room, a folding screen across a corner of the room. Kel stepped behind it, and changed into the dress. It softly swished as she walked towards the mirror, and Kel once again admired the dress. It had faux laces on the front of the bodice, above the split of the overskirts, and the underskirt had a tiny leaf pattern embroidered on it. More skirt swishing signified the return of the other women, all in somewhat similar gowns. Alanna's was light gold and green, Daine was in light green, and Buri was wearing a cream-colored wedding dress.

Although Kel had seen all of the ladies in dresses before, it was only at a distance during balls and banquets.

"Well, they're most definitely colorful," said Alanna, dryly.

"They're not so bad," said Daine.

"Speak for yourself," said Buri, "I feel altogether too damsel in distress-like."

"Didn't I say not to complain," said Yuki, emerging from Lalasa's room clad in a cream kimono embroidered with golden fans.

"Yuki, you look amazing!" Kel said, "I'm dressed, and I've got my _shukusen_ ready to practice."

"Oh, no you're not," Yuki replied, pointing at the table with the mirror, "not yet."

Kel followed her finger, and saw that the dressing table was covered in bottles of powder and paint.

_Oh, no. Not face paint, _Kel thought, _why in the world do I have to wear that muck?_

"Come on Kel," said Yuki, "It's already nine o' clock."

Kel surveyed the situation, and wondered if she could make a run for it, even though all of the women in the room were to some extent, warriors. Then she remembered the dress, and acquiesced, though not happily.

She sat down on the stool in front of the table while Yuki got the face paint ready. Yuki put some skin-colored powder on her face, and then powdered her cheeks with pink powder, so she looked like she was blushing. Then Yuki took a small brush and spread fine green powder over her eyelids, and then put on lip color and lined her eyes with a thin stripe of black paint.

When Kel opened her eyes, she was astonished.

_Is that really me? _Kel thought, _Mithros, I look different._

"Is that magic face paint, Yuki?" Kel asked while studying the simple face paint made her look so different.

"Have you ever worn face paint before, Kel?" inquired Alanna, "because you look very good in it."

"No," responded Kel, "I wore dresses when I was a page, but never face paint."

"You should wear it more often," said Daine, applying face paint to her own face, "It suits you."

"No, thank you," said Kel hurriedly, and all of the women laughed

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While all the women were getting ready, on the other side of Steadfast, Neal, Raoul and Dom were dressing too.

"Remind me again why we are getting ready at nine when the wedding is at eleven?" Neal grumbled.

"Because in about half an hour, after donning her dress, Yuki will come over here dragging Buri and demanding why we aren't ready," Raoul replied, pulling a white shirt over his head.

"How do you know that she will?" asked Neal.

"Trust me," said Raoul, "I got more than enough letters from Buri about it. She's been planning this for a _long_ time and I believe that anyone who messes it up will be beheaded with that fan of hers."

Neal gulped and continued getting dressed, undoubtedly faster than his earlier snail's pace.

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Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to update, I'm in the school musical, and our shows were last weekend. I kind of based Kel's reaction to makeup on my friends' and my feeling on stage makeup. I wasn't really sure if they called it face paint in Tortall, because the only mention of it at all is not even a sentence long. I figured if Tammy called it face paint in Emelan, it would be okay. Next up: the wedding!


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Okay, I know nobody has commented about it, but I just felt like saying that the reason that Thayet and Shinkokami aren't at Steadfast is fairly obvious, and that I may be writing a oneshot about the quasi-reception that they're going to have in Corus. Thanks to Grace of Masbolle, rinalashlaya, peddyviolin, Uncertian Destiny, oirishgoddess and Calvin the stupendous man for reviewing. I know that the chapters are short, but I kind of have to write them in chunks whenever I get the time, so bear with me if they seen a little off.

Disclaimer: I'm just wandering onto Tammy's playground to hang out with the PoTS bunch and none of them are mine.

Almost like clockwork, the second Neal had pulled on his tunic over his shirt, Yuki walked in towing Buri, just as Raoul had predicted.

"Finally, you are finished," said Yuki, "You take longer than we women do to get dressed."

"No we don't," replied Neal, miffed, "We just assumed that since the wedding is at eleven, we didn't need to get dressed until half past ten. Don't think you are overreacting a bit?"

"Just a bit? More like a ton," said Dom, who was immediately silenced with Raoul, Neal and Buri's elbows in his ribs.

"All right," admitted Yuki, "I will tone it down some. But if you are not ready soon, my _shukusen_ will become very closely acquainted with your ribs."

"You mean the blunt end, right?" asked Neal, somewhat nervously.

"Just be ready on time, Nealan dearest," said Yuki, smiling enigmatically, "and you won't have to worry about it."

She walked out of the building, calmer than before, and went to go find the other women. Neal hastily finished combing his hair and after he finished pulling his boots on, he headed towards the mess hall so he could eat some breakfast.

Meanwhile, back in Lalasa's quarters, Kel was opening her _shukusen_ and taking some experimental swings. She had already cleared a space to avoid unnecessary destruction of Lalasa's belonging, but it was almost to no avail when Yuki, returning from hastening Neal, opened the door and startled Kel into nearly flinging the deadly fan at her.

"Calm down, Kel," said Yuki, stepping forward and closing the light green _shukusen_ with a snap.

"Sorry, Yuki," said Kel, apologetically, "I haven't used one of those since before the war and I didn't know I could toss one so far."

"Well, it's good that you are practicing," said Yuki, opening her own fan, a golden silk decorated with cream-colored cherry blossoms, "Do you remember any of the wedding dances at the Imperial Court?"

"Maybe," answered Kel, "but probably not, it's been so long."

"All right, then," said Yuki, "I will teach you your part. Don't worry, it's not too complicated."

Kel opened her _shukusen_ and faced Yuki. They started out just tossing the fans back and forth, to warm up and then switched to more complex patterns. Yuki and Kel started flipping the fans so they did somersaults in the air and landed safely in each other's hands. After a few minutes of this, Yuki called out a command in Yamani, and for a second, Kel didn't understand what she meant, but she quickly realized it meant sinking sun and spun the _shukusen_ around her hands before flipping it to Yuki. They began to practice the sequence they would perform after the wedding ceremony, and by the time they were done, there were only twenty minutes left until the wedding.

"Oh, no!" said Yuki, all signs of Yamani calm leaving her face, "I can't believe it's already twenty till."

"Don't worry," said Kel, "I'm sure everything will go fine."

They rushed to the center of Steadfast and Yuki hurried away to make sure nothing had gone wrong, leaving Kel in the middle of the fort, alone.

_Now what should I do?_ thought Kel, _I don't have anything important until eleven. But I can't exercise; I'm wearing this dress._

Lost in thought, she didn't hear Dom approaching until he asked her:

"Copper for your thoughts?"

Kel turned around, surprised.

"Dom, I thought you were still getting ready."

"Nope, I finished a while ago. Actually, I was looking for you," he responded, smiling.

_He was looking for me_, thought Kel, _The question is, what for? Maybe he does have feelings for-no, bad Kel, Dom is a _friend.

"Kel?" Dom asked, waving his hand in from of her face.

"Sorry, I was practicing for the fan dance with Yuki," said Kel, "She really wants this to go well, and I wanted to do whatever I could to help."

"Where is she now?"

"Checking on the preparations. I think she believes that the whole thing will spontaneously explode if she leaves them alone too long."

They both laughed for a minute and Dom remembered why he was looking for Kel in the first place.

"Well, now that I've found you I was wondering if you wanted to go on a walk on the walls, seeing as we don't have anything else to do."

"I'd love to, Dom. I haven't really been around Steadfast."

They set off, climbing the steps that led to the walkway inside the walls. Kel looked out one of the archer's notches and saw miles and miles of trees and mountains in the distance.

"It's so beautiful," said Kel, "and it reminds me of home. Before I was afraid of height, I used to look out one of the balcony windows at the sea in one direction and the mountains in the other."

"It's even better at sunset," remarked Dom, leaning towards the notch, "even though we are at war, little things like that remind me that not all things are bad."

After gazing out at the landscape for some more time, Kel realized that they had better leave soon because the wedding was incredibly soon. No sooner than they had started walking towards the altar did they encounter Neal, hiding behind the latrines.

"What _are_ you doing, Neal?" asked Kel.

"Hiding from Yuki. But as she appears to have calmed down some, I will grace you all with my presence. Until I see her again, in which case you will have to bear life without me."

"Meathead," drawled Dom, "did it ever occur to you that your attendance might be somewhat necessary at your wedding?"

"First off," replied Neal, "it is Sir Meathead to you, Domitan. Secondly, I will be present at the wedding itself, but I can guarantee that I will be mysteriously missing in the time prior to it."

"Well, Nealan," said Dom, "you are running out of 'time prior to it' because it is already ten till, and in about two minutes, Yuki will come looking for you."

"Than I had better hide myself extremely well," said Neal, fluttering his fingers in a condescending wave, "goodbye Protector of the Small, Domitan."

And with that, Neal left.

"I don't think he realizes how determined Yuki is when she sets her mind to things," said Kel, "The only way she won't find him is if he turns invisible."

"He's not quite that good." Dom said, "Believe me, if he was he wouldn't have ended up with the nickname 'Meathead'. Come on, let's go get into place."

"I have to go make sure Yuki knows that Neal is hiding on purpose. She's probably going to attack me with face paint again, since most of it came off while we were practicing."

"Okay, then," said Dom, "see you, Kel."

Kel turned around and walked to Lalasa's quarters where she met up with Yuki and Alanna and Daine, who redid all of Kel's face paint, and once again, Kel was shocked at how different she looked.

"_Kel_," said Yuki, rolling her eyes, "How could you have possibly rubbed off all of that face paint within two hours?"

"Well," said Kel, sheepishly, "After we practiced the pattern dance, it was sort of dripping a little, so I wiped it off, but then it smeared, so I had to wash my whole face."

Yuki put on the finishing touches of her face paint, declared her perfect and warned her about messing it up again, although there wasn't really enough time until the wedding to do anything.

By the time everyone was flawless, they had to take their places, Kel lined up in front of Alanna and Daine and Buri and Yuki behind. They reached the center of Steadfast and paired the bride and groom's parties. As Kel was the maid of honor, and Dom was the best man, they were companions. He was wearing his King's Own uniform, a white shirt, blue breeches and matching blue tunic with the silver King's Own insignia on the front. When Kel walked up to Dom and slipped her arm through his, he smiled and whispered to her:

"Good luck, don't trip."

"I'm not the one who should be worried about tripping," responded Kel.

He chuckled silently and looked down at her, really paying attention to her appearance.

_Mithros, _Dom thought, _is that really Kel? She looks beautiful. I wish I could tell her how I feel. But she'd probably laugh it off or be shocked. I should just leave our friendship be._

As he was thinking, he didn't hear the beginning of the wedding march and when Kel started to step forward, he stumbled forward and fell. The members of the King's Own and Queen's Riders watching all chuckled as he picked himself up and started walking again.

"Told you so," Kel whispered into his ear.

Dom started to reply when Kel nudged him – they were already at the front of the aisle. Kel looked behind him and saw Numair and Daine standing next to each other, Numair wearing a white shirt, black breeches and a forest green tunic. Behind them was Alanna, without George who was back at the Swoop caring for their children. Finally, walking side-by-side, were Buri and Yuki, holding bouquets of pretty white flowers. As they marched forward to the music, Kel saw Neal and Raoul standing at the front, Raoul in a cream shirt, brown breeches and a brown tunic with gold trim and Neal in a cream shirt with a forest green tunic and breeches.

Kel and Dom stood on one side of the altar, next to Neal, and Daine, Numair and Alanna were on the other side. Buri and Yuki reached their fiancés and clasped hands. A priest of Mithros was to marry them, and he opened the Book and started to read. After asking Mithros and the Goddess's grace, he told Raoul and Buri to say their vows.

"Whatever lies ahead, good or bad," said Buri, smiling at Raoul, "we will face together. Distance may test us, and time may try us. But I give myself as I am and as I will be, and I do it for all of life. I, Buriram Tourakom of the K'miri Hau Ma, do take Sir Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's peak to be my husband."

"All that I am and all that I have," said Raoul, "I offer to you in love and in joy. I, Sir Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak, take you, Buriram Tourakom of the K'miri Hau Ma, to be my wife, knowing in my heart that you will be my constant friend, my faithful partner in life, and my one true love."

The priest tied Raoul and Buri's intertwined hands together with a red and gold cloth, and asked Neal and Yuki to recited their vows.

"You are God's precious gift to me," said Neal, "my springtime, my hope and my joy. You are everything that's good and pure and true and I worship you with my mind, body and soul. How blessed I am to be able to say that you are mine, to be able to love and cherish you for the rest of my days. I vow to always put you first in my life, always be there to comfort you in your sorrow and rejoice with you in your victories. May our hearts and very breath become one as we unite this day as husband and wife. I promise to be your true love from this day forward and forevermore."

"I take you to be my husband from this time onward, to join with you and to share all that is to come, to be your faithful wife, to give and to receive, to speak and to listen, to inspire and to respond; a commitment made in love, kept in faith, and eternally made new."

The priest tied Neal and Yuki's hands together as well and declared:

"The ties on your hands signify unity forever. With the power given to me, and the blessing of Mithros and the Great Mother Goddess, I now declare you husband and wife. You may kiss the respective brides."

As the assembled group cheered, Buri took one step forward and pulled Raoul into a spectacular kiss, and Neal held Yuki close and kissed her soundly.

Kel and Dom walked forward to congratulate Neal, Yuki, Raoul and Buri and Raoul pulled Kel into a bear hug.

"You do know that you are responsible for all of this," Raoul said, gesturing at the altar."

"I am?" asked Kel, surprised.

"Yes," said Buri, wrapping an arm around her husband, "if you hadn't told him to invite me to his aunt's party, nothing would have ever happened. Thank you so much, Kel."

"You're welcome, I think," said Kel, smiling at them.

"Yeah, and it's also your fault that I met and married Yuki," said Neal.

"All right, Meathead," said Kel, doubtfully, "now I know that you may be even crazier than usual due to this, but how exactly was I involved with you and Yuki?"

"Well, if you didn't go to the Yamani Islands, then Yuki would have never come to Tortall because your family wouldn't have made the treaty, and if you didn't know Yuki, then you couldn't have intro-"

"All right, Neal," said Yuki, "that's enough. Just thank her so we can eat."

"Thank you very much, Protector of the Small," said Neal, grinning.

"Just like you," said Dom, "not even able to thank Kel without being a Meathead."

"How many times have I told you," said Neal, somewhat petulant, "It's SIR Meathead to you, Domitan."

At that point, all of them rolled their eyes and ignored Neal. Finally, the wedding was over. Kel decided to go change into more comfortable clothing for lunch, even though she would have to change again for the reception. She said that she would be back soon, and went back to her room to relax.

Author's Note: Okay guys, sorry for the lateness in updation. Finals are attacking me, and I wanted to post this chappie as soon as possible so I didn't have to worry about it. As usual, reviews are much appreciated, as is constructive criticism. I was a bit worried that some of the characters were OOC, because none of my friends who were willing to proofread have actually read Tamora Pierce lately.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted. Actually, most of this chapter was written, but I couldn't find a suitable ending. Thanks to wAstxd1sYmPhOny, gasp-x, rinalashlaya, kaypgirl and Grace of Masbolle for reviewing.

Back in her room, Kel was reading a book to pass the time. The reception wasn't until five, and it was only half past noon. Lunch was going to be served in an hour and Kel had already shed her dress. She was going to wear her original wedding clothes to the reception but was wearing regular clothes at the moment. After finishing the chapter, Kel went out to the stables to check on Hoshi. She was just stepping into her stall when she heard a familiar voice from a few stalls over. It was Dom, grooming his mare, Firefly. Kel was about to say hello when she heard him say her name to the horse.

"I don't know what to do, Firefly," Dom said, running a brush along the mare's back, "Kel's just so…wonderful. But I can't say anything to her, it might get awkward, and I would rather care for her as only a friend than ruin our friendship. Maybe I should just forget about it."

Kel stood there, taken aback a bit. Here was the man she thought didn't even recognize her as female, telling his horse he cared for her. Kel considered saying that she liked him in return, but rejected that idea, since he might feel uncomfortable. Instead, she finished grooming Hoshi and went to find Yuki. Maybe she would know what to do.

She found Yuki reading a Yamani book in her bedroom.

"Yuki?" Kel asked hesitantly, "I need some advice…about a man."

Yuki put marked her spot in the book and looked up at Kel.

"What type of advice?" Yuki inquired, "Is it about Dom, Keladry?"

"How did you know?"

"He really cares for you, Kel. I can tell pretty easily by the way he acts around you."

Kel was dumbfounded (A/N: Love that word). Was it really so obvious?

_I need to find him to and tell him that I lov…I mean care for him a lot too_, she thought, _but what if he thinks that's strange and wonders how I knew that he cared for me? Oh, what should I do?_

"Kel?" Yuki said, tapping her shoulder, "It's time for lunch. Eat now, moon over Dom later."

Kel smiled at her,

"Thanks, Yuki," she said.

They walked to the lunch hall and found Neal and Dom already eating. Kel wondered if it would be strange to sit next to Dom, and then remembered that they were friends. Even so, she sat down across from Dom and next to Yuki. They started a conversation about the latest piece of news from Corus: Princess Kalasin's marriage to Emperor Kaddar of Carthak. All the wedding-related talk made Dom wonder, would he ever get married? Marriage was always optional for him, being his father's second son, but he had always envisioned some sort of wedding in his future. He knew he loved Kel, but wasn't sure what would happen if the feeling wasn't mutual. Dom sat there, preoccupied with his thoughts of marriage and Kel, until the scrape of a bench against the floor jarred him back to reality. Lunch was over, and the other people in the hall were getting up.

"Dom?" asked Kel, "What do you think will happen?"

The question from Kel made Dom realize that he had no idea what they were talking about. He vaguely remembered something about Kalasin's marriage, so he responded,

"I hope it'll help keep us in peace with Carthak."

The rest of the group started laughing at Dom's comment.

"Scintillating comment, Domitan," Neal remarked snidely, "we were discussing tomorrow's archery competition. It's nice to know that you take the situation with Carthak so seriously."

"Oh, shut up, Meathead," retorted Dom.

"He was probably just thinking about something else," said Kel.

_But what was he thinking about?_ Kel thought, _Me? Yeah, right._

"Thank you, Kel," said Dom.

By then everyone had finished his or her lunch, so Dom quickly ate his and put away his plate. When he was done, everyone had dispersed, and Dom had a few hours to kill, so he decided to go for a ride. He saddled his mare, and trotted through the gates into the woods by Steadfast. He had been riding for about ten minutes when he spotted something strange in the foliage. Dom dismounted, tied Firefly to a tree, and strode through the shrubbery, right into a bear trap someone had dug. He fell through the screen of leaves and branches, and ended up in the bottom of a ten-foot deep hole. Dom cursed, and tried to get out, but his attempts were to no avail as the pit's borders crumbled when he tried to get out. He surmised that the trap was an abandoned one, laid when there was a village full of people nearby, so there wouldn't be anyone coming to check the trap any time soon.

"Neal is going to kill me for missing his reception," Dom said aloud. He wasn't worried about food or rescue, he had the mandatory pouch of dried fruit and meat on his belt, and Firefly was tethered relatively near. He decided to sit and wait until someone realized he was missing, and went to go find him.

Back at Steadfast, Kel was in her room, trying to pass the time as well. She had already finished her book, and there was nothing else interesting to do. She left her room and started wandering around the fort, trying to find something to do. Kel ended up at the stables and was about to saddle up Hoshi when she noticed Firefly was missing. She decided to go out riding as well, and maybe meet up with Dom and talk a little. Kel rode out of the gates and took her favorite path to a glade near a stream. Through the trees, she saw a sliver of bay mare and leather trappings. Kel guessed it was Firefly, and that Dom was somewhere near, so she rode to the little clearing in the woods. When she reached the mare, Dom was nowhere to be found. Kel supposed Dom had gone on a walk, and tethered Hoshi next to Firefly. Looking around, she spotted some trodden-on bushes, which she figured was Dom's path. Following the makeshift path farther, she heard a man singing a song she had learned while she was Raoul's squire.

"Dom?" Kel called.

Dom jumped, startled, and called back,

"Yes, it's me. Don't go any farther, I'm stuck in a bear trap that somebody laid ages ago."

Kel chuckled at the thought of Dom stuck in the deep hole, and shouted to him that she was bringing Firefly and Hoshi to help get him out. She untied the horses and led them to where she was earlier. Dom showed her where the hole's edges were by tossing chunks of dried fruit up the sides, but Kel was still perplexed as to how she was going to get Dom out without having the whole hole (A/N: Tee hee) collapse. Suddenly, inspiration struck. There was an overhanging branch right over the hole. If she wrapped a rope around the branch, she could give one end to Dom, and tie another to Hoshi and Firefly. They could use the branch as a pulley and get Dom out.

After explaining the whole business to Dom, Kel tied a rock to the end of the rope, and hurled it over and around the branch, then she tied rope's end to the horses' saddles, and dangled the other end into the hole. Dom tied a knot in the rope, and wrapped it securely around himself. Kel backed the horses up, and slowly, Dom rose out the hole. He was almost on ground level when the branch-pulley creaked dangerously. Kel stopped the horses, worried that the branch would crack if she pulled any longer. She asked Dom,

"Do you think you could get out now?"

"Maybe, if I swing a little bit," he responded.

Dom rocked a little bit, and since there were no more creaking noises from the branch, swung harder. He was almost to the edge of the pit when he heard an awful splintering noise. The branch was breaking. Kel rushed forward to grab Dom and keep him from falling but the second she tugged on the rope the branch gave way. Luckily, the branch itself was caught by a net of twigs and leaves, and balanced in the tree precariously. For a split second, Kel thought they were safe, but their combined weight on the edge of the hole was too much, and the edge crumbled, dragging Kel and Dom down with it. The rope slowed their fall a little bit, but the branch the rope was attached to fell down, and hit Kel's arm hard.

They both lay sprawled on the bottom of the pit for a few minutes until Kel sat up and looked at her aching arm. The branch had created a gash that had started bleeding pretty badly. Dom quickly ripped a strip off of his tunic and tied it around her arm as a makeshift tourniquet. Hopefully that would stop the bleeding so they could bandage it. After few minutes, the flow stopped, and Dom used the rest of his tunic to clean and bandage the wound. All the while, Kel was looking up at the walls of the pit, trying to figure a way out.

"Thank you," Kel said, smiling at Dom, "where did you learn to stop bleeding so quickly?"

"You pick things up pretty quickly in the King's Own," Dom said, "and having a family of healers gave me a little extra knowledge. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, I've had much worse injuries," Kel replied, "But we have a problem."

"You aren't injured anywhere else, right?"

"No, Dom, I'm fine. But I don't know how we're supposed to get out of this infernal hole."

"We could do what I did: wait until someone realizes we're missing and comes and finds us."

"And that worked brilliantly, didn't it."

"Kel, were you being sarcastic?" Dom asked in mock shock, "I think the Meathead has rubbed off on you."

Kel scowled at Dom and leaned against the wall of the pit.

"Do we at least have food or water?"

"I have dried meat and fruit, and a water bottle. Do you have any rations on you?"

Kel knew she had water, and she checked her belt-pouch and found dried fruit, meat, and cheese.

"I have the same as you, but I've got some cheese as well. I guess there is nothing to do but wait. Neal is going to laugh his head off at us, won't he."

"Unfortunately, you are correct on both matters."

Dom settled down next to Kel, and took her belt-pouch.

"Want some cheese?"

A/N: Again, sorry for the long wait for this chapter, my entire grade is going on a week-long field trip tomorrow, and the teachers all decided to compensate by giving us an extra week's worth of homework for the last two weeks. Hope you liked it, and as usual, reviews make my day.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: The beginning of this chapter came surprisingly quickly, I guess because I left a quasi-cliffy on the last chapter. Camping out in the middle of a national park really helps with the idea flow. Thanks to Gasp-x, oirishgoddess, readerfreak10, cheeseycraziness and ananasfreak47 for reviewing.

Twenty long-drawn-out minutes had passed since Kel and Dom's entrapment, and the entire time, Kel was plotting escape plans to keep her mind off of her close proximity to Dom. She was leaning forward with her arms wrapped around her bent knees, considering ways to get out.

_I wonder if we can jump and then climb? _She thought_, No, the walls would crumble even more. This maddening pit!! What if we boosted each other up? No, that would me one of us would be left behind. But which one of us would have to stay? Dom is probably strong enough to boost me._

Kel glanced at Dom, who was using his knife to peel the bark off a fist-sized chunk of wood that had fallen. He looked tired but his eyes were still happy. Little did she know; he was smiling because she was there with him.

Dom looked up from his whittling and saw Kel looking at him. He caught her eye and she looked away quickly. For a minute, Dom was worried that Kel had somehow heard of his affection for her, and that was why she wasn't talking to him. He stared at the small area of sky visible above the hole and saw a bird flying by. Dom prodded Kel's shoulder, his touch startling Kel, and said,

"D'you think that bird's going to steal our fruit?"

"Dom," Kel said exasperatedly, "I doubt it can even see us stuck in this pit. Do you have any escape plans? Because if Neal doesn't kill us for missing his reception, Yuki just might, and I _don't_ want to get on the bad side of her fan."

"I've already considered the usual: climbing, jumping, boosting one another out, but short of a boulder falling and making us a ramp, I think we'll have to rely on outside forces.

"Hmm. You are right. But what should we do until then?"

"Wait, I suppose."

Kel rose from the ground and began to stretch; her legs had fallen asleep while she was planning. Meanwhile, Dom went back to his whittling. He had carved out a shape that resembled a potato, but as his knife began shaving off finer slivers, the block of wood started looking like a bird. Looking up, he saw Kel gazing into the sky, and decided to carve a sparrow, and give it to her. Fifteen minutes later, he held an almost-finished sparrow figurine in his hands.

It fit into the palm of his hand, and was a very light brown color. Dom was looking for the little bottle of oil he carried when Kel turned around and asked,

"What's that?"

"Wait a second, and you'll see," he replied.

Dom finally found the bottle of oil and rag he kept to finish off his whittling, and finished the bird by rubbing oil into it. He wiped it off once more and turned around and presented it to Kel, whose eyes lit up when she saw the miniature bird.

"Dom! That's amazing!" she exclaimed, not hiding her feelings for once, "When did you learn to do that?"

"I picked it up a few years ago," he replied, corking the bottle and re-wrapping it in the rag, "It's a handy skill when you're stuck somewhere and are bored. I keep the oil and rag in my belt-pouch to finish anything I make."

"It's beautiful," Kel said, examining the wooden sparrow, "and it looks just like Nari."

"Wait! That's it!" she cried, "We can use the sparrows to send a message back to Steadfast. I wonder why I didn't think of it earlier."

"Do you have parchment and a quill?" asked Dom

"Yes, I always carry a some with me. I think Nari and Arrow came with me this time, so I'll write the message and tie it to Nari's leg and send her to the fort."

Kel brought out the little rectangle of parchment and wrote,

_Help! We're stuck in an abandoned bear trap down the road. Follow the sparrows; they'll lead you to us._

_ Signed,_

_ Kel and Dom_

As soon as the letter was written, Kel called Nari, who fluttered onto the edge of the pit. Kel tied the letter to a leather cord, and Dom tossed it up onto the edge, since Kel's arm was injured.

"Nari," said Kel, "go back to Steadfast and find Neal or Raoul and give them the message. Then, can you lead them back to us?"

The sparrow peeped and took off, Arrow following close behind.

"They should be there within the hour," said Kel, relieved.

"Good, now Meathead won't annoy us to death for missing the reception," joked Dom.

"Dom!" said Kel, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, hold on second, Kel," he said, "You've got an eyelash."

He gently brushed the eyelash off her cheek, and presented it to Kel.

"Now," he said, "make a wish, and blow it away."

"Blow it away? Why?" Kel asked, "I've never heard of that before. Dandelions, yes, but not eyelashes." Kel rambled a little to keep her mind off his touch on her cheek.

"Really? It must be an obscure, Tortallan thing. I've always done it, though."

Kel moved closer to him, until she was close enough to blow the eyelash away. She quickly made a wish, and blew the eyelash off Dom's finger into the sky. Kel looked up at Dom, not quite meeting his eyes, and asked,

"Now what? Does my wish come true right away?"

Immediately after asking the question, Kel became incredibly aware of the distance, or lack thereof, between her and Dom. Dom, on the other hand, was looking down at Kel and fighting an inexorable urge to kiss her.

_No, I can't kiss her! _Dom thought, _She's my friend, and it would ruin EVERYTHING._

Half a second before Dom's brain lost the battle with his heart; Kel stretched up and gently brushed his lips with her. At that instant, Dom lost all capability of coherent thought and began kissing her back. He pulled back after a second and met Kel's eyes.

"Guess what?" she said brazenly, "My wish came true."

--

A/N: Sorry y'all, had to leave it hanging. I know it's pretty short, but basically, by digging them into a literal hole, I dug myself into a metaphorical one, and I had NASTY writer's block, not helped by the fact that I have to turn in two essays and I have finals in a week. But, whatever, I finally finished. Luckily, as soon as finals are over, I can write longer, better, and more frequent chapters. And, to end my author's note, I have one comment: Reviews are the best remedy for writer's block, so please, tell me what you think, good or bad.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Okey doke, I started on the next chapter, hopefully this one will be longer than the others. Thanks to oirishgoddess, readerfreak10, spazzysassyangel, Lady Leopard, sarahcullen4eva and WarriorKnight for their reviews.

Disclaimer: I wish I was Tamora Pierce, but since I'm not I'll settle for borrowing her characters instead.

--

Flashback to Chapter 6: Wishes

_Half a second before Dom's brain lost the battle with his heart; Kel stretched up and gently brushed his lips with her. At that instant, Dom lost all capability of coherent thought and began kissing her back. He pulled back after a second and met Kel's eyes._

_"Guess what?" she said brazenly, "My wish came true."_

--

Meanwhile, back at Steadfast Neal saw two small birds flying into camp. One had a something clutched in its beak, and as the birds neared, Neal realized they were Kel's sparrows. He held out his hand, and the head sparrow, Nari, alighted on his palm. Her mate, Arrow, took a perch on Neal's shoulder. Neal carefully untied the slip of parchment off of Nari's leg, and she flew onto Neal's other shoulder while he read the message.

_Kel and Dom stuck in a hole together? _Neal thought,_ this should be interesting. Mithros knows they've been dancing around the fact that they love each other for months. I wonder…_

"Yuki, Raoul, Buri, Alanna!" he called, "Kel and Dom are trapped in a bear pit down the roads. Any bets as to how long it'll take before they're kissing?"

"Neal!" Yuki said, and elbowed him in the ribs, "Behave!"

"Two silver nobles says they're going to kissing when we get there," said Raoul, grinning wickedly.

"I'll wager three silvers that they're kissing right now, and that they'll be past that by the time _we _arrive," said Alanna.

"Well, we better get going, or else we won't win anything at all," said Buri, walking towards the stables.

They mounted their horses, Yuki opting to stay behind as she was in a kimono, and rode through the gates. About ten minutes later, they discovered Hoshi and Firefly tethered together, but dismounted quietly to and spy on Kel and Dom. They crept up to the horses, and Alanna used her Gift to enhance their hearing and vision.

They saw and heard Dom and Kel leaning against each other, Kel's head on Dom's shoulder and each talking softly. Dom looked up and around, and whispered in Kel's ear.

"D'you see that flash of purple by that oak over there?"

Kel was about to look when Dom said,

"Wait, pretend you're stretching; Alanna, Neal, Raoul and Buri and spying on us."

Kel stretched her arms and peeked up at the aforementioned tree. Sure enough, she caught a flash of green and purple Gift.

"Well, why don't we give them something to spy on?" she asked with a devilish glint in her eye.

"My thoughts exactly," said Dom, wrapping his arms around Kel and kissing her. They kept at this until Kel was breathless, and both kept glancing at the spot where their eavesdropping friends were hidden. Finally, Kel whispered to Dom that they should call their friends out.

They rose, and Dom wrapped his arm around Kel's waist. Kel called out,

"Meathead, milord, Commander Buri, Lioness! Seen enough to satisfy your betting pool?"

The four spies rose, Buri looking sheepish, Alanna grinning widely, Raoul smiling but trying to hide it, and Neal's jaw fallen so far it was sweeping the forest floor.

"All right, y'ens," Alanna said, using the Northern slang for 'you people', "Pay up, three silvers from each of you."

The three snoops paid Alanna her wager, and got Kel and Dom out of the hole by dropping a ladder-like log (say that ten times fast) down so that they could climb out. At Dom's insistence, Kel unwrapped her wound, and Neal healed it quickly.

Kel and Dom stretched out before mounting their horses and going back to Steadfast. Kel and Dom were riding side-by-side, constantly stealing glances at the other. They were about to lean in to kiss when Neal nudged his gelding, Thunder, in between them and said,

"Well, it took you long enough!"

"Meathead!!" said Kel and Dom in unison, Kel rolling her eyes and Dom smacking him.

"Didn't marrying Yuki give you at least a smidgen (love that word) of manners?" Kel asked.

"I have perfect, superior manners, I'll have you know," replied Neal, not one bit miffed, "I simply choose not to utilize them on you heathens."

"Are you referring to me, or Raoul?" called Alanna from in front of them, "Nealan, I have one piece of advice for you-"

"Exactly how many times did I hear you say _that_ when I was a squire?" quipped Neal. He was going to continue when he was silenced by a glare from the Lioness.

"As I was saying, never become a spy, Nealan. I'm sure King Maggot in Scanra could hear your bellowing."

"From what we've gotten from Daine's reports, it might be a welcome break," said Buri, chuckling at their antics. Seeing Kel, Neal and Dom's confused looks, she went on to explain, "Five of the clans have revolted. Seems that they're frightened by the _powerful, new mage_ on our side," Buri winked at Kel and continued, "Anyway, he's having trouble controlling the remaining clans on his side without the threat of the killing devices, and he's ordered seven of his nine advisors executed within the last week. His control is failing, and our efforts are succeeding."

"Well, it's nice to hear someone appreciates my melodious voice," said Neal with the air of an offended cat.

By that time, they had reached Steadfast. Once their horses were back in their stables, Kel and Dom found their friends wandering off to not so subtly give them 'alone time'.

"So, now what?" asked Kel.

"Well, seeing as the spies have disappeared, we should find something to pass the time until the dreadful, I mean wonderful, event this evening," replied Dom.

"No, I mean with us, Dom. Am I just going to be another fling, like all the other ladies in your past?"

Dom desperately wanted to tell her that there was absolutely no chance of that happening. He loved her. But he was worried about what would happen if he told her. Dom didn't want Kel to feel forced to love him in anyway.

"No, Kel. That will not happen. As long as you want me, I'm there for you."

Kel smiled, and Dom's heart rose.

"Well, get used to me, because I've always wanted you around. Now, what shall we do to pass the time, my dear Sergeant Domitan?" she said jokingly.

"Whatever you desire, O Protector of the Small," replied Dom, playing along.

They decided to play cards, and Dom taught Kel how to play a game called 'Nothing'. Kel quickly picked up how to play, and within the hour she was beating Dom badly. They played until right before the reception, and then went to go dress. Kel changed into her original reception outfit of gray breeches, a cream shirt and a light blue tunic with silver trim. It had been some time since she had last worn Mindelan colors, and she had forgotten how much she liked them.

When Kel emerged from her room, she discovered that more soldiers from the Own had arrived by then, and Kel was finally able to meet the captain of Second Company, Ulliver Linden. After meeting him, she found Dom talking to a sergeant from the own that she didn't know. He was about Dom's age, with ridiculously curly brown hair and bright green eyes. He was taller than Dom, but had a more slender build.

"Kel," said Dom, smiling, "I'd like you to meet my old friend Darrien Roth. He's a sergeant in First Company. Darrien, this is Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan."

"Pleased to meet you, Sergeant Roth," said Kel, shaking his hand, "How do you know Dom?"

"I lived in Masbolle and trained with Dom before he left for the Own, Lady Kel," he responded in a rumbling voice.

"Well, any friend of Dom's is a friend of mine, but please, just call me Kel," she said.

"Oh, Kel," said Dom, "You've a letter from Corus. It arrived with the other two companies.

Dom handed Kel the letter and she opened it and started reading. It was just news from home: her sister Adalia and her husband Merovec of Nond were expecting a child; Oranie had married Ortien of Hannalof, and her brother Inness's wife had just had a baby boy named Toric. The biggest piece of news was that her younger brother, Avinar, had become one of Emperor Kaddar's advisors.

Meanwhile, Darrien and Dom were catching up. It turned out that Darrien had joined the Own about seven years after Dom, right after First Company's loss of twenty men, so he was promoted to sergeant quickly. Dom was recounting his time in the Own when Darrien asked about Kel.

"Hey, Dom, how long have you known Kel?"

"For the longest time. I saw her the first time when I joined the Own. Why?"

"Just curiosity. How old is she?"

"Nineteen," said Dom, slightly suspicious about why Darrien was asking so many questions about Kel. His Kel.

"She's rather pretty. Is she seeing someone?"

"All right, I think this passes "just curiosity". You're interested in her. Well, for your inform-"

Just before Dom could tell Darrien he was courting Kel, a soldier called out,

"Scanran raiding party spotted under a mile away! All soldiers to arms!"

--

A/N: Ooh, this one's my longest chapter so far. I love summer break. New character fun-ness!! And there's an attack, to boot. Don't worry, I refuse to make this any more cliché than it has to be, so neither Kel nor Dom will be kidnapped/tortured/jailed/anything else involving a heroic rescue and a beautiful, smoochy reunion. Don't get me wrong, it's a great idea, but I think it's a little overused, at least in post-wedding, KelDom fics.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: I am evil, terrible and many other bad things. Wow, I'm REALLY sorry about how long it took to update this chapter. I suck. I mean, really, almost two years? But thanks to Emaelin's lovely review, I decided to suck it up and finish the story, which I had abandoned. Apologies if you reviewed and I forgot to mention you. Y'all have every right to hate me. Okay, I'm going to quit yammering and just get to the story.

Disclaimer: sarcasm Yep, I'm really Tamora Pierce and I'm definitely writing fanfiction instead of Mastiff right now. Yes, indeedy dandy. Ooh, look, a pig just flew by my window! /sarcasm

--

_Just before Dom could tell Darrien he was courting Kel, a soldier called out,_

_ "Scanran raiding party spotted under a mile away! All soldiers to arms!"_

--

The second Kel heard the frantic call to arms she raced to her quarters and grabbed her glaive and sword. By the time she reached the stables, Tobe had already saddled Hoshi and had her armor ready. Kel quickly donned her major pieces of armor and mounted Hoshi. She looked around and found Neal and Dom both armored and mounted as well. They rode to the gate where Raoul was splitting the warriors up into ten-fighter squads.

"Kel!" said Raoul, "You're in command of Domitan, Darrien, Balim, Erric, and Tomen's squads. Try to keep them from advancing too close to Steadfast."

As soon as the sergeants from the squads under her command were beside her, they rode out to meet the Scanrans. When they caught sight of the fleet of warriors about to attack the fort, they stopped and started planning tactics.

"All right, Darrien, and Balim, attack the party head-on. Meanwhile, Dom, you and Erric go around the back with me to get them from behind. I'm going to concentrate on the mages, because they'll probably cause trouble soon, and I'm the only one who can see through their illusions. Tomen, keep your squad here to back up Darrien and Balim's, if they need it."

After giving orders, Kel and the two squads rode out. Stealthily, they rode through the forest, doing their best not to alert the enemy to their presence. Finally, they reached the back end of the raiding party. Almost immediately, the most accurate archers in both squads dismounted and found spots in trees. As soon as their own warriors were clear, they started firing, felling enemy warriors with deadly accuracy. Almost every shot took out a combatant. Kel briefly debated joining them, since she couldn't see any of their mages at that instant, but then the air distorted around one man in the telltale fur hat of a Scanran shaman. A few high-pitched, whistled notes sounded over the battlefield, and the Tortallan warriors within ten feet of the shaman fell, unconscious.

_It's those damned whistle magics, _thought Kel angrily.

She drew out her bow, and a griffin-fletched arrow, took aim and fired. The first arrow exploded five feet away from the shaman, but the blast distracted the shaman enough for Dom to finish him off. Now there was only one more shaman left over. He was shielding the front section of Scanrans with white fire. Kel drew her bow, and was about to fire when the shaman fell with Darrien's sword through his chest.

Now that the shamans were taken care of, Kel remounted Hoshi and rode into open combat. Though Hoshi wasn't trained as a warhorse, after Daine had filled the animals with her magic, Hoshi picked up a few tricks. When a frothing Scanran warrior attempted to run the horse through with a spear, she reared and knocked him over with her hooves.

Kel looked towards the river, where the soldiers of Steadfast were engaged in full-force combat with the Scanrans. The Tortallans were winning, but by only a small margin. Obviously, this was the Scanrans' last attempt at winning the war, but it was failing. Just then, an enemy warrior slicing at her ribs with a spear jarred Kel back into the real world. Cursing herself for not paying proper attention to the battle, she took care of the Scanran, and began fighting again. A few minutes later, something in the air changed, and the hairs on the back of Kel's neck began to prickle.

She heard a huge flapping sound from the west, and glanced up to see an enormous flock of birds soaring towards the battlefield. Daine's reinforcements had arrived. At the same time, a pack of wild animals were silently joining the ranks of the Tortallans. Some soldiers, both Scanran and Tortallan, panicked and ran, but the cougars and bears only attacked the enemy warriors.

Kel winced as she heard the assaulted soldiers' screams as the animals pounced. The other Scanrans, learning from their dead comrades' mistakes, didn't run away screaming, but focused all their attention on the beasts, instead of the Tortallan soldiers, who quickly decimated half of the stunned Scanrans. Finally, one soldier, seeing that most of the Scanran forces were gone and that wild animals were surrounding the survivors, dropped to his knees and surrendered, weeping. The sense of defeat swept through the Scanran ranks like a wildfire and, all of the remaining soldiers surrendered as well, dropping their weapons and kneeling. The will to fight had left them, and the Tortallans quickly bound them and took their weapons. Some begged for the mercy stroke, because they would rather die a soldier than live a prisoner, and some agreed to go willingly and provide information in exchange for leniency.

Kel turned Hoshi around, and rode back to Steadfast's gates. Hoshi was too tired to stay out, but Kel decided she come back out and help burn the Scanrans and bury the Tortallans. As she reentered the gates, she saw Dom being supported by Erric and Balim, a large, bloody gash across his chest bleeding sluggishly down his tunic and shirt.

"What happened?" she asked frantically, taking Erric's place as a support.

"He saved my life, m'lady, but while he was picking me up, one of those Scanran fiends slashed 'im across the chest. It's not too deep, but it's long, very long."

"Kel?" asked Dom faintly. "Is that you?"

"Stay with me, Domitan!" said Kel. She turned to Erric. "We need to get him to Sir Nealan quickly. Erric rushed off while Kel and Balim lifted Dom up and carried him to the infirmary, doing their level best not to jar his injury any further. Even with their care, Dom gritted his teeth and winced in pain whenever anything touched his chest. By the time they reached the infirmary, Neal had already readied a bed with fresh linen and had healing salve and bandages on hand. He gave Kel and Balim a hand in lowering Dom on to the table.

"Well, Domitan?" Kel asked as Neal gently examined the wound. "What do you have to say for yourself?" She raised an eyebrow, trying to use sarcasm to mask her worry. "I trust you to take care of yourself and your squad and you get yourself sliced up like cheese."

Dom smiled at Kel, weak from the blood loss. "Sorry, milady." He tried to salute but Neal glared at him until he stopped trying to move.

"Oh, Domitan, Domitan, Domitan. Whatever would you do without me?" asked Neal. "Fear not, dear cousin, for your wound is shallow. It will be fixed in but a minute."

"There's a time and a place for the flowery language, Meathead, and now is neither," said Kel, still terse.

"All right, all right," said Neal, backing off. "But don't worry, Kel. The injury looks bad, but it didn't hit anything vital, as far as I can tell. I am going to have to ask you and Balim there to leave while I heal, though."

Balim nodded to Neal and Kel and headed out the door. Kel, however, crossed her arms and stayed firmly put.

"Unless you can give me a valid reason why I shouldn't stay, I'm not leaving. Now, will my presence affect the healing in any way?"

"All right, you can stay," said Neal, chuckling to himself. "But since you're not leaving, you can make yourself useful. Go wash your hands and then draw a bowl of water from the barrel in the corner."

Kel did as she was told, and filled up a small tub with fresh, clean water.

"I'm going to put Dom to sleep now, Kel, so I can stitch the wound more easily. Go hold his head, but not too tightly."

Kel stood at the head of the cot, cupping Dom's head in her hands. He had been lying back with his eyes closed for the last few minutes, almost asleep. He awoke when Kel gently lifted his head to put her hands underneath. Dom smiled up at Kel, who still looked worried despite Neal's reassurances.

"Don't worry, Kel. I'll be fine, just like Sir Meathead said. You trust him, don't you?"

"Of course I do, Dom. But I'm still going to worry. At least I get to do something, rather than just sit outside or at your bedside, wringing my hands as if that'd help."

"Kel?" asked Neal. "I need to put Dom to sleep now. Dom, you ready?"

"I'm fine," said Dom, "except for the whole bleeding gash down my chest thing."

Kel leaned down and kissed Dom upside down. Neal, with a little tact for once, turned away and threaded the needle. After setting it down on the table, he laid his hands on Dom's forehead and let the cool green fire of his Gift flow into Dom, putting him to sleep. Neal worked quickly and quietly, cleaning out Dom's gash with water and then putting healing salve on it. Then he pulled the edges of the wound together and set the stitches evenly. While he sewed, he answered the question he was pretty sure Kel was thinking of.

"I'm not healing his wound all the way because it'd use up too much power, and there are others to be tended to."

"Right, I knew that," said Kel, distractedly. "Should I feel bad for wanting you to heal him all the way?"

"Honestly, Kel. Sometimes you say the oddest things. Of course you shouldn't feel bad! You l-." He bit the word off and started again. "You like him a lot and care for him, and obviously you want him whole and completely healthy."

"I know that, and I do. But I still feel bad. And not only about the healing, but that I'm worrying so much even though I'm sure nothing will happen."

"Keladry of Mindelan," said Neal sternly, cutting off the thread. "You have nothing to feel bad about. It's obvious to everyone but you that you love Dom, and that is what happens when you love someone. You want them to be safe and whole and healthy, and you worry when they're not."

Neal bandaged the wound neatly while Kel stood in silence, still cradling Dom's head in her hands. She was deep in thought about what Neal had finally said to her. Did she love Dom?

One part of her mind answered, _That's what I've been telling you from the start, dear. Just like Neal said, it's blatantly obvious that you love him and that he loves you._

Kel's thoughts were interrupted by Neal's request to let go of Neal's head. She complied, and Neal put his hands on Dom's forehead again. More green light flowed into Dom, and his slumber deepened.

"I'm putting him into a deeper sleep so that he'll heal faster," said Neal. "Dom'll sleep till nightfall at the very least, and I haven't got anything more for you to do." Kel began to protest and Neal cut her off. "Go, Kel. He'll be fine."

Kel smoothed Dom's hair out of his face and cupped his cheek before reluctantly leaving. She knew that hanging around Neal and fretting would get nothing accomplished, and that she would be much more useful working.

As Kel headed towards the gate, Yuki intercepted her, worry evident on her face for once.

"Kel, are you okay?" she asked.

"Yes, Yuki, I'm fine. It's Dom I'm worried about. He was injured, but not too badly according to Neal."

"Well, then he must actually be fine. Neal has a tendency to exaggerate things."

"Was that a joke, Yukimi? Tortall has indeed corrupted you."

Yuki smiled just barely, her eyes twinkling with humor. "I would not say corrupt is the right word, except in the case of Nealan himself. But really, Kel, you look worried."

"I know Dom is going to be fine, logically, and I shouldn't be worried for him past that, but I am, and I can't find any reason for it. And Neal said that the reason I'm worried is that I love him, but I don't know that I love him, but I don't know how I don't know that, and I'm just very confused." Kel inhaled deeply, having expressed her feelings in one very long sentence in just one breath."

"Keladry, honestly. For someone so smart you can be rather stupid. And it must be obvious if Neal notices it too. Everyone can see that you and Dom are clearly in love, except you and Dom. I'm sure Neal said the exact same thing. Take it from me, Kel. You're in love with Dom."

Kel tilted her head, a little stunned. It was one thing hearing it from Neal, the hopeless romantic who wrote love poems and pined after the object of his desire, but another altogether to hear it from smart, sensible Yuki. How Neal had managed to marry such a wonderful woman was beyond Kel, but she supposed love had something to do with it.

"I am going to find Neal. By the way, Darrien was looking for you. He said it was important."

"Oh, thank you," said Kel, still sidetracked by Yuki's declaration of the truth. "I'll go find him now."

Yuki headed off toward the infirmary as Kel decided that Darrien would be most easily found in the mess hall. She crossed the camp to the hall, deep in thought about her and Dom. She didn't even notice crossing into the mess hall, and nearly walked right into Darrien.

"Oh, Darrien, sorry," she said, looking up in surprise. "I didn't see you there."

"It's all right, Kel. I suppose you're worried about the injured? I heard Domitan got hurt."

"Yes, he did," said Kel, brow furrowing in worry. "But Neal's tended to him and says he should be fine."

"That's wonderful," said Darrien genuinely.

"Yuki said you wanted to talk to me?" Kel asked, looking around the mess hall. It was mostly empty, as most of the soldiers were on cleanup or burial duty.

"I do. Would you mind if we went somewhere else? It is kind of echoey in here."

Kel followed Darrien out of the mess hall, puzzled as to why he needed somewhere smaller. They ended up in an unused office in the officers' quarters. The room was empty except for an old desk, dusty from disuse.

"Look, Kel," he said, fidgeting with his hands slightly. "I'm not quite sure how to put this. You're unlike every single one of the women I've ever known, and so I'm kind of at a loss about what to say."

Kel frowned slightly, taken aback. What was Darrien doing? His hand moved towards her face, as if to touch her cheek, but then retreated.

"Kel, I really like you. You're strong and smart and loyal and beautiful, and even though I've only known you a few days, it feels like forever."

He reached out and took her hand. "I don't know how to tell you what I feel, so I think I'll just show you." Darrien leaned forward and kissed Kel gently, pushing her against the desk. Kel jumped at his touch, shocked, and moved out of his embrace, backing up toward the door.

"What's wrong?" he asked, confused. "Don't you feel it too? I know there's an attraction between us, and damn it Kel, I'm not letting it go because you're shy."

"What in the Mother's name are you doing, Darrien?" she asked as he moved towards her again. "You claim to have known me forever, but you missed a rather important detail. I'm in love with Dom."

"What?" he asked. He looked sincerely surprised. "But Dom never said a thing when I asked."

Kel opened the door of the room and rushed down the hallway, cheeks burning, half in anger, half in embarrassment.

"Kel! Wait!" called Darrien, following her. He caught her wrist. "I'm sorry! I honestly had no idea that you were seeing anybody."

"Let go of me," she said, furious. "I saw you talking to Dom. He had to have told you."

"He didn't, I swear! I even asked him."

"Excuse me if I have a hard time believing you."

"Well, if you don't believe me, ask him yourself."

Darrien pulled Kel toward the infirmary. She didn't struggle against him because they were going where he said, and Neal would kill Darrien if he knew what happened. Even though she was enraged, she wouldn't kill Darrien until she was sure he was guilty.

"Kel," asked Neal, looking up from his desk. "What's wrong?"

"Could you wake Dom up?" asked Kel, her face a mask for the anger underneath. "I have to prove something to Darrien."

"What could you possibly have to prove right at this instant?"

"Don't ask. Would it be bad for him to do so?"

"No, not really. But it may take him a bit longer to recover. Is it really that important?"

"Let's just say it's a matter of life or death," interjected Darrien.

"All right, then," said Neal, rolling up his sleeves. He put his hands on Dom's head and let his Gift flow through into Dom, waking him up without harm.

Dom grunted and mumbled, reluctantly opening his eyes. He smiled when he saw Kel by his bedside, but the smile faded when he saw her expression. Kel had her Yamani mask on, which meant that something was seriously wrong.

"What happened?" asked Dom, frowning.

"Look," said Darrien, cutting in. "Before you say anything, Dom, please tell Kel that you didn't tell me that you were courting her."

"Why?" asked Dom, suspicious. "Did you do anything?"

"Yes," said Kel, before Darrien could say anything. "He kissed me, Dom."

Dom took a deep breath in and tried to get up and punch Darrien in the face, but he was still too weak and woozy to get up all the way.

"As soon as I can manage to get out of the this bed, I swear by all the gods I will kill you unless you have a very good reason for this, Darrien."

Darrien backed off from the bed. "You didn't tell me you were courting her, Dom. I wouldn't have if I had known."

Dom thought back to the conversation, and remembered. "I was about to, when they sounded the call to arms."

"Look, Kel, and Dom, I'm really sorry," said Darrien. "I didn't realize it. Can you forgive me?"

Kel took in a deep breath, and faced Darrien. "You didn't know, and I can't fault you for that. But keep your hands to yourself, all right?"

"Thank you, Kel. What about you, Dom?"

"We'll see."

Darrien sensed that he couldn't win this battle, and gave up, backing out of the room with another apologetic glance.

"Kel, I'm sorry," said Dom. "I was about to tell him, I promise."

"I believe you, Dom. How do you feel?"

"Much better than before, physically. I'm still furious at Darrien, though."

"I know. But I don't think killing him would be the best course of action."

"Yes, well, probably." He smiled and reached up, cupping her cheek.

"Not probably, definitely. You're very protective of me, you know?"

"I do know that, and I am. I care for you a lot, Kel."

"I do too, Dom. In fact, I think I love you."

Dom smiled, slightly surprised. "What made you come to that realization?"

"In a nutshell? Yuki and Neal yelling it at me."

"Meathead told you? And you believed him?"

"Well, it was mostly Yuki. They told me because it was true, and I didn't know quite how to say it. I love you, Domitan of Masbolle, and I've finally figured that out."

"Kel, I love you too." Kel leaned down and kissed Dom, careful not to jostle him too hard.

"Sorry to interrupt this lovely, mushy, heartfelt, romantic scene, but Dom, you really do have to rest," said Neal, sticking his head through the door. He had left while Kel and Dom were talking, sensing impeding mush.

"Already?" asked Dom, holding onto Kel's hand.

"It's all right," said Kel, smiling happily. "We have all the time in the world."


End file.
